burnt and other sacrifices,
pass away, but the syllable Om must be considered as imperishable; for
it is (a symbol of) Brahman (the supreme spirit) himself, the Lord of
Creation." In these speculations Manu bears out, and is borne out by,
several Upanishads. In the Katha-Upanishad for instance, Yama, the god
of death, in replying to a question of Nachiketas, says: "The word
which all the Vedas record, which all the modes of penance proclaim,
desirous of which religious students perform their duties, this word I
will briefly tell thee--it is Om. This syllable means the (inferior)
Brahman and the supreme (Brahman). Whoever knows this syllable obtains
whatever he wishes." And in the Pras'na-Upanishad the saint Pippalada
says to Satyakama: "The supreme and the inferior Brahman are both the
word Om; hence the wise follow by this support the one or the other of
the two. If he meditates upon its one letter (a) only, he is quickly
born on the earth; is carried by the verses of the Rig Veda to the
world of man; and, if he is devoted there to austerity, the duties of a
religious student and faith, he enjoys greatness. But if he meditates
in his mind on its two letters (a and u), he is elevated by the verses
of the Yajur Veda to the intermediate region; comes to the world of the
moon and, having enjoyed there power, returns again (to the world of
man). If, however, he meditates on the supreme spirit by means of its
three letters (a, u, and m) he is produced in light in the sun; as the
snake is liberated from its skin, so is he liberated from sin."
According to the Mandukya-Upanishad the nature of the soul is
summarized in the three letters a, u, and m in their isolated and
combined form--a being Vaiswanara, or that form of Brahman which
represents the soul in its waking condition; a, Taijasa, or that form
of Brahman which represents it in its dreaming state; and m, Piajna, or
that form of Brahman which represents it in its state of profound sleep
(or that state in which it is temporarily united with the supreme
spirit); while a, u, m combined (i.e., Om), represent the fourth or
highest condition of Brahman, "which is unaccountable, in which all
manifestations have ceased, which is blissful and without duality. Om
therefore, is soul, and by this soul, he who knows it, enters into (the
supreme) soul." Passages like these may be considered as the key to the
more enigmatic expressions used; for instance, by the au